Department of Telecom (DoT) disconnects 1.48 lakh fake mobile connections in Assam

‘Mobile connections subscribed on fake or forged documents used for cybercrimes, financial frauds, antisocial, and antinational activities’

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Department of Telecom detected about 1.50 lakh SIM cards to have been activated by point-of-sale (PoS) of different telecom service providers (TSPs) in Assam and disconnected about 1.48 lakh fake connections, besides lodging police complaints on 55 PoS and blacklisting 53 PoS in the first phase. Most of these POS are in Nagaon and Morigaon districts.

Speaking to the media in Guwahati today, Additional Director General of Telecom Mithilesh Kumar said that mobile connections subscribed on fake or forged documents are being used for cybercrime, financial fraud, antisocial, and antinational activities.

“DoT has taken various initiatives to detect such fraudulent connections and take action against point-of-sale personnel who are involved in selling fraudulent products and individuals who have made such connections based on fake or forged documents. One of the initiatives is the use of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based facial recognition system (ASTR) solution for the detection of fraudulent connections taken using the same photo but with different names,” he said.

Kumar said, “Using this advanced facial recognition technology, the Department has analysed the customer base of all TSPs and detected many fraudulent mobile connections, which are taken by submitting fake identities.

In the second phase, Kumar said, “A list of 62,106 is shared with TSPs, namely Vodafone, RIIO, Bharati Airtel, and BSNL, where connections are taken on a fraudulent basis. We have directed all TSPS to take action against errant POS and file FIRs. In all these cases, the same photo is used for multiple connections just by changing names. In one case, it was observed that one person’s photo was used for 97 connections with different names. As these fraudulent connections might be used for illegal activities, we have apprised senior officers from Assam Police (Special Branch) and shared details of the connections taken fraudulently, and we have requested taking stringent action against the errant PoS and individuals concerned who have fraudulently taken such connections. As many as 34,500 connections have been disconnected in the state.”

Deputy Director General (Security) Gopal Krushna Sutar said, “As a citizen-centric initiative, the Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR) portal was also launched in Assam for citizens to request the blocking of lost and stolen mobile devices. It is integrated with the Assam Government’s CCTNS system, which will facilitate citizens’ access to the nearest police station for raising such blocking requests. Alerts will be received both by police and citizens in case a stolen device is used again in the network, thus facilitating the recovery of a lost stolen device.”

Sutar further said, “The department detected three fake telecom exchanges in Assam last year.”

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